5 ms·

FDA approves first drug for treatment of peanut allergy for children

55 points by apsec112 7y ago

dchichkov 7y ago
$3-20k / year for powder that is manufactured from peanuts packaged in pull-apart color-coded capsules. How cute. Why roughly 1.2 million kids in the U.S. have a broken immune system that can't tolerate peanuts, again? Hurts, huh? But I'm simply calling a spade a spade.
- taneq 7y ago
  > Why roughly 1.2 million kids in the U.S. have a broken immune system that can't tolerate peanuts, again? Any chance you feel like telling us this apparently obvious reason?
- striking 7y ago
  I'm not sure this tidbit is useful when, as far as I can tell, there aren't useful a lot of very useful data on allergies or their prevalence. There are some[1] but they may not capture historical trends or useful comparisons between countries, and can otherwise be completely inaccurate unless one looks specifically at oral food challenge response data. So what are you really trying to say? [1]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6163515/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6163515/
  - ta999999171 7y ago
    He's trying to say put your kid in the dirt and feed them fuckin peanuts - couldn't be more clear if you've put a few minutes into the topic.
    - dchichkov 7y ago
      I was primarily pointing out - it is a bit of a problem when the industry is a bit too eager to sell color coded pills. And is not too shy of aggressive marketing, like such that did the opioid crisis trick. And is not particularly interested in figuring out the actual problem, if there is no money immediately in sight. I don't know the solution. Not a specialist. Maybe it is connected with microbiome. Wouldn't be surprised that it is broken somehow, maybe even at the level of population. On your comment, maybe. But one probably have to be a bit careful about dirt, there might be contamination with pesticides and pathogens. There's no established research. It is also somewhat known that microbiome and immune system reaches stable state with age.
      - striking 7y ago
        This is more of the reply I was looking for; this seems a little more reasonable. On the one hand, you're not wrong that previously the guidelines for introducing kids to peanuts, especially those with a family history of peanuts, were wrong[1] and that this may be a pretty big reason why this problem is so currently visible especially in the US. (though nobody really knows for sure) That being said, would you trust yourself to isolate peanut allergen, measure it to 600mg, and feed it to your kid? I couldn't do that. Now that some kids have this problem and it's not just going to go away if we cram a peanut down their throats, it's nice that the medical industry has provided a solution. It's unfortunate that it's expensive but this problem is just a problem with the entire industry as it stands in the US. 1: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/05/508348588/new-guidelines-tell-parents-when-to-introduce-babies-to-peanut-products https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/05/508348588...
        dchichkov 7y ago
        I think right lines of research are around tweaking the gut microbiome. And the real underlying problem that we are facing is a "diet+environment+herd" problem. With the horizontal bacteria transfer playing major role in it. I don't think it is a good idea to take broken immune system and introduce a known trigger in unknown quantity. And I don't see much difference between serving a bit of diluted peanut butter and a pill like the one that got expedited through FDA as a breakthrough therapy. In my opinion both are pretty much the same level of intervention and both are quite stupid. I'm not a specialist and can be easily wrong here. This is an opinion. The quality of this post is a "random post on the internet" type of thing. The top post content is pretty much citations from the article. And me, not being impressed by the solution and the set of incentives to the industry that had produced that solution.
  - modzu 7y ago
    he's quoting the article; Palforzia actually is peanut powder. so if the drug works, "peanuts" work..
    - refurb 7y ago
      The peanut flour in the drug has a standardized amount of allergen. If you want to try to sensitize your highly sensitive child using peanuts you crushed up yourself, hats off to you! Keep an Epipen around!
      - pbhjpbhj 7y ago
        In some countries simple medicines get charged at huge rates. Apparently a £20 epipen is hundreds of $USD in USA, not everyone can afford to pay for medicines in their country.
- pertymcpert 7y ago
  What breaks their immune systems?
  - ta999999171 7y ago
    Lack of development due to helicopter parenting and being given a tablet in a highchair instead of sending them outside to eat dirt, play commandos - or whatever.
    - taneq 7y ago
      Works great, and those that survive turn out tough!
      - ta999999171 7y ago
        You've literally just described evolution... Your mindset is the main reason we're weaker, our fertility rates are lower, etc.
- bottled_poe 7y ago
  Thank you doctor.
lysp 7y ago
A week or so ago the following study was published. It needs more research, but basically states that one of the older vaccines used for whooping cough possibly have helped children build up an immunity to food allergies. > A dose of the whooping cough vaccine might have reduced cases of childhood food allergies, according to Australian researchers who reviewed the cases of 500 children diagnosed with food allergy by specialist allergists in the late 1990s. > The researchers found that children who had received one or more doses of an older 'whole-cell' whooping cough vaccine were 23 per cent less likely to be diagnosed with a food allergy than those who had the updated ‘acellular’ version. > Researchers say this provides evidence that the whole-cell vaccine could have the added benefit of boosting protection against life-threatening allergies to foods like eggs, milk, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, fish and shellfish, but more research will be needed to confirm this. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2213219819310542?via%3Dihub https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S22132...
- numpad0 7y ago
  Were allergies 25% more popular before introduction of said vaccine or is it that infections play roles in healthy development of an infant?
- im3w1l 7y ago
  > > > The researchers found that children who had received one or more doses of an older 'whole-cell' whooping cough vaccine were 23 per cent less likely to be diagnosed with a food allergy than those who had the updated ‘acellular’ version. Is the old vaccine protecting against allergies? Or is the new vaccine inducing them? My pet theory is that vaccines aim to teach the body something is harmful, and sometimes the body learns to recognize other things that just happen to be around at the same time as harmful too. Here is a prediction: Vaccines with adjuvants will be more associated with allergies than those without.
grey-area 7y ago
The basis of this is recent research which indicates taking peanuts orally is a good way to treat allergies or even better avoid allergies in the first place if they are exposed early (from a few months).
- pbhjpbhj 7y ago
  There was a piece in New Scientist about it this month. A hypothesis was that exposure to foodstuffs on the skin, eg peanut oil based baby products, could cause antibody production when the body hadn't had chance to "recognise" the proteins, or whatever, as food. I'd say the article was essential reading for new/soon-to-be parents.
- senorsmile 7y ago
  That's interesting. I developed a peanut allergy as an adult (around 25 years old). Before then, peanuts were one of my favorite snacks.
- foobarbazetc 7y ago
  In Israel you give your kid Bamba. You can buy it on Amazon here.
  - rdlecler1 7y ago
    They sell something similar at Trader Joe’s— much cheaper.
b34r 7y ago
Is it worth the effort vs just being more vigilant about what you consume and having an epipen? If the program doesn’t dramatically and reliably reduce allergic response it seems a little odd and kludgy.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- dragonsky 7y ago
  I don’t know that it is just a matter of what you eat. You have to also be careful of cross contamination in the kitchen that prepared the food and even touching surfaces or hands that have been in contact. This is not easy for children or even adults. Avoiding the Alergerin can become a full time job.
foobarbazetc 7y ago
Anyone guinea pigging their children on some new drug just approved by the Trump FDA is negligent.
- djohnston 7y ago
  Did I miss something? Have there been a lot of bad medicines that Trump's FDA approved and then had to recall because of adverse events?
- ta999999171 7y ago
  Anyone distrusting government agencies ONLY NOW because of one politician is ignorant.

55 points by apsec112 7y ago

$3-20k / year for powder that is manufactured from peanuts packaged in pull-apart color-coded capsules. How cute. Why roughly 1.2 million kids in the U.S. have a broken immune system that can't tolerate peanuts, again? Hurts, huh? But I'm simply calling a spade a spade.

taneq 7y ago
> Why roughly 1.2 million kids in the U.S. have a broken immune system that can't tolerate peanuts, again? Any chance you feel like telling us this apparently obvious reason?
striking 7y ago
I'm not sure this tidbit is useful when, as far as I can tell, there aren't useful a lot of very useful data on allergies or their prevalence. There are some[1] but they may not capture historical trends or useful comparisons between countries, and can otherwise be completely inaccurate unless one looks specifically at oral food challenge response data. So what are you really trying to say? [1]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6163515/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6163515/
- ta999999171 7y ago
  He's trying to say put your kid in the dirt and feed them fuckin peanuts - couldn't be more clear if you've put a few minutes into the topic.
  - dchichkov 7y ago
    I was primarily pointing out - it is a bit of a problem when the industry is a bit too eager to sell color coded pills. And is not too shy of aggressive marketing, like such that did the opioid crisis trick. And is not particularly interested in figuring out the actual problem, if there is no money immediately in sight. I don't know the solution. Not a specialist. Maybe it is connected with microbiome. Wouldn't be surprised that it is broken somehow, maybe even at the level of population. On your comment, maybe. But one probably have to be a bit careful about dirt, there might be contamination with pesticides and pathogens. There's no established research. It is also somewhat known that microbiome and immune system reaches stable state with age.
    - striking 7y ago
      This is more of the reply I was looking for; this seems a little more reasonable. On the one hand, you're not wrong that previously the guidelines for introducing kids to peanuts, especially those with a family history of peanuts, were wrong[1] and that this may be a pretty big reason why this problem is so currently visible especially in the US. (though nobody really knows for sure) That being said, would you trust yourself to isolate peanut allergen, measure it to 600mg, and feed it to your kid? I couldn't do that. Now that some kids have this problem and it's not just going to go away if we cram a peanut down their throats, it's nice that the medical industry has provided a solution. It's unfortunate that it's expensive but this problem is just a problem with the entire industry as it stands in the US. 1: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/05/508348588/new-guidelines-tell-parents-when-to-introduce-babies-to-peanut-products https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/05/508348588...
      - dchichkov 7y ago
        I think right lines of research are around tweaking the gut microbiome. And the real underlying problem that we are facing is a "diet+environment+herd" problem. With the horizontal bacteria transfer playing major role in it. I don't think it is a good idea to take broken immune system and introduce a known trigger in unknown quantity. And I don't see much difference between serving a bit of diluted peanut butter and a pill like the one that got expedited through FDA as a breakthrough therapy. In my opinion both are pretty much the same level of intervention and both are quite stupid. I'm not a specialist and can be easily wrong here. This is an opinion. The quality of this post is a "random post on the internet" type of thing. The top post content is pretty much citations from the article. And me, not being impressed by the solution and the set of incentives to the industry that had produced that solution.
- modzu 7y ago
  he's quoting the article; Palforzia actually is peanut powder. so if the drug works, "peanuts" work..
  - refurb 7y ago
    The peanut flour in the drug has a standardized amount of allergen. If you want to try to sensitize your highly sensitive child using peanuts you crushed up yourself, hats off to you! Keep an Epipen around!
    - pbhjpbhj 7y ago
      In some countries simple medicines get charged at huge rates. Apparently a £20 epipen is hundreds of $USD in USA, not everyone can afford to pay for medicines in their country.
pertymcpert 7y ago
What breaks their immune systems?
- ta999999171 7y ago
  Lack of development due to helicopter parenting and being given a tablet in a highchair instead of sending them outside to eat dirt, play commandos - or whatever.
  - taneq 7y ago
    Works great, and those that survive turn out tough!
    - ta999999171 7y ago
      You've literally just described evolution... Your mindset is the main reason we're weaker, our fertility rates are lower, etc.
bottled_poe 7y ago
Thank you doctor.

lysp 7y ago

A week or so ago the following study was published. It needs more research, but basically states that one of the older vaccines used for whooping cough possibly have helped children build up an immunity to food allergies. > A dose of the whooping cough vaccine might have reduced cases of childhood food allergies, according to Australian researchers who reviewed the cases of 500 children diagnosed with food allergy by specialist allergists in the late 1990s. > The researchers found that children who had received one or more doses of an older 'whole-cell' whooping cough vaccine were 23 per cent less likely to be diagnosed with a food allergy than those who had the updated ‘acellular’ version. > Researchers say this provides evidence that the whole-cell vaccine could have the added benefit of boosting protection against life-threatening allergies to foods like eggs, milk, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, fish and shellfish, but more research will be needed to confirm this. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2213219819310542?via%3Dihub https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S22132...

numpad0 7y ago
Were allergies 25% more popular before introduction of said vaccine or is it that infections play roles in healthy development of an infant?
im3w1l 7y ago
> > > The researchers found that children who had received one or more doses of an older 'whole-cell' whooping cough vaccine were 23 per cent less likely to be diagnosed with a food allergy than those who had the updated ‘acellular’ version. Is the old vaccine protecting against allergies? Or is the new vaccine inducing them? My pet theory is that vaccines aim to teach the body something is harmful, and sometimes the body learns to recognize other things that just happen to be around at the same time as harmful too. Here is a prediction: Vaccines with adjuvants will be more associated with allergies than those without.

grey-area 7y ago

The basis of this is recent research which indicates taking peanuts orally is a good way to treat allergies or even better avoid allergies in the first place if they are exposed early (from a few months).

pbhjpbhj 7y ago
There was a piece in New Scientist about it this month. A hypothesis was that exposure to foodstuffs on the skin, eg peanut oil based baby products, could cause antibody production when the body hadn't had chance to "recognise" the proteins, or whatever, as food. I'd say the article was essential reading for new/soon-to-be parents.
senorsmile 7y ago
That's interesting. I developed a peanut allergy as an adult (around 25 years old). Before then, peanuts were one of my favorite snacks.
foobarbazetc 7y ago
In Israel you give your kid Bamba. You can buy it on Amazon here.
- rdlecler1 7y ago
  They sell something similar at Trader Joe’s— much cheaper.

b34r 7y ago

Is it worth the effort vs just being more vigilant about what you consume and having an epipen? If the program doesn’t dramatically and reliably reduce allergic response it seems a little odd and kludgy.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
dragonsky 7y ago
I don’t know that it is just a matter of what you eat. You have to also be careful of cross contamination in the kitchen that prepared the food and even touching surfaces or hands that have been in contact. This is not easy for children or even adults. Avoiding the Alergerin can become a full time job.

foobarbazetc 7y ago

Anyone guinea pigging their children on some new drug just approved by the Trump FDA is negligent.

djohnston 7y ago
Did I miss something? Have there been a lot of bad medicines that Trump's FDA approved and then had to recall because of adverse events?
ta999999171 7y ago
Anyone distrusting government agencies ONLY NOW because of one politician is ignorant.